We are taking back our destiny, Mali’s foreign minister tells GSW
Mali’s foreign minister has urged the world to stop judging his country based on its problems and challenges and help it take advantage of opportunities arising from its bountiful natural resources and youthful population.
In an interview with Global South World, Abdoulaye Diop stressed his country’s right to take sovereign decisions over its constitution and business regulations and highlighted plans to develop the economy.
“We are a country fighting for our autonomy: security autonomy, economic autonomy, but a nation where we count on ourselves to make those transformations,” he said, adding: “We count on the ingenuity, the mindset of Malians, because we have been for centuries traders, adventurers. And we think that it's possible for us to do those things.”
The military government in Bamako has taken several measures to bolster the economy in recent months, including new regulations on mining, which accounts for a fifth of public revenues. The new rules will see Malian public and private entities controlling up to 35% of operations with a levy on revenues for local development.
However, introducing the rules comes amid a long-standing dispute with miner Barrick Gold, which has concerned some international investors. The company’s contractors reportedly began firing staff last week as a row over previous changes to ownership regulations continues.
Diop told Global South World that any investors from any country would be welcome as long as they fulfil three conditions - respecting the country’s sovereignty, following the decisions of its government, and acting in the interests of its people.
As well as the new rules around mining, Diop said the country was keen to ensure that value-added processing of raw materials takes place locally. Mali is a major supplier of cotton and lithium as well as gold, but most exports are raw materials, meaning the bulk of the profits are generated outside the country’s borders.
To fulfill that goal, Mali needs to contain a decade-long insurgency which has crippled the economy and brought down several governments.
Mali threw out French troops based in the country in 2022, complaining that they were not responding to the population's needs. A United Nations Peacekeeping mission ended the following year as the country’s military rulers promised to take control of the situation.
Groups affiliated with al-Qaeda and ISIS want to form an Islamist state within the region and have gained substantial footholds in the countries of the Alliance of Sahel States. International experts say the countries are relying too much on counter terrorism tactics such as raids and not making enough effort to reassert state authority.
Diop rejects these claims, asserting that government forces are now able to operate in all parts of the country. With 25% of government spending going to the military, “the situation has improved significantly,” he told Global South World.
Nevertheless, he acknowledged that arms alone would not win the war against the terrorists.
“We are mindful that a total military response will never be sufficient, but it is necessary when you are attacked to respond, but we are working for national reconciliation in our country. To promote peace at the community level. To also promote economic development. To create more hope for these young people who are growing up in many of these areas where people are tempted to be in the terrorist networks or to join criminal groups or to be even on the road to illegal migration.”
Videographer: Anoir4art
